Closet Case Study: Now A Column for The Cut!

A year or two ago, my friend Jocelyn came to visit me in Brooklyn from California, where we went to college together, and brought me a gift. BIG SUR Wild Harvested Organic Soap read the lettering on the brown craft-paper box, from a brand called Juniper Ridge. I never used it, not because I didn’t like [...]

As many of you know, I think the fashion industry’s production practices should earn as much attention as the designs. To that end, I interviewed Suno’s Nadiyah Bradshaw-Spencer (one of my former co-workers from Edun) for the Cut, and heard a little bit about how she gets Suno’s vibrant printed jumpsuits, dresses, swimsuits, and sneakers [...]

photos by Melissa Hom for New York Magazine When I was a kid, I told my mom I wanted socks the color of the sky just before the stars came out. (She tried to find me some, which were a little green, but close. Thanks mom!) Years later, I discovered the cream-colored sweater she is wearing [...]

Just after the catastrophic collapse of the garment factories at Rana Plaza, a friend asked me where she thought she may be able to combine her desire to make a positive difference with her gift and training for fashion. I suggested production, and I wrote about why for Medium. Here’s a photo from my own [...]

“Closet Case Study,” my new monthly column about resourcefully revamping one’s wardrobe launches this week at The Cut. The idea is that with limited cash, closet space, and environmental resources, perhaps we should spend a little less energy and money shopping for new stuff and a little more getting creative with what we’ve already got [...]

My latest adventure following clothing to its source took me to a remote corner of northeastern Brazil, where some Swiss expats started Fetisso, a manufacturer of kinky fetish-wear made from latex that drips from towering rubber trees. I was prepared to find a story all about power. Rubber, after all, has driven greedy imperialists throughout [...]

If you’ve seen me around town this Fashion Week, I’ve probably been wearing the red fox fur vest pictured below. But there’s a long story that doesn’t appear in that picture. I went into the Pennsylvania wild with hunters and trappers to get those fox skins, and made the vest here in the Garment District. That [...]

I know we haven’t had much carnage here at Closettour, but it’s 2012, and there’s a first for everything. I recently shadowed John Zander, muskrat trapper extraordinaire, on his mission through a South Jersey marsh. There, the wet mud has extreme suction power and there are foxholes – as in, where foxes live. There are [...]

for TakePart.com: Wednesday, at the Sustainable Textiles Conference in New York, Yvon Chouinard, founder of outdoor super-brand Patagonia, told industry insiders from brands like Nike, H&M and Eileen Fisher that he never wanted to be a businessman, and remembered leaner days as a young alpinist. “I used to eat cat food,” he said. “That’s all [...]

As the daylight hours wane, so do the dollars from my grant. Here, some highlights of how I spent the money, and the last several months…just kidding.

As always at New York Fashion Week, there’s been a lot of talk about our city’s role in the industry – now changing as quickly as you can say “fast fashion.” The consensus seems to be that while Paris may be forever more refined, New York is the place for young designers to get their [...]

As is often the case, I’ve got Brazil on the brain. It’s been too long (two years!) since I’ve been back to that land that I love. When I studied abroad in Rio in 2002 (above–remember that dress?), fashion from Ipanema’s beaches to the depths of the Amazon inspired me to explore the origins and [...]

I never thought I’d be the sort of blogger to broadcast my own operation, but here goes nothing: I first heard of Junky Styling from Mathilda Tham–you may remember her as the brainy beauty from Sweden.closettour who introduced me to the intersection between environmentalism, psychology and my closet. Then, Hazel Clark, the Parsons dean who [...]

I was going to hold this post until I had a resolution, but realized it might never see the screen.

It’s an alpha version of the sort of stories I plan to produce–like a little swatch of material, presented in a different format than you’ll find here at the blog.

They say the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. And the fashion industry has a problem: The calendar is broken.

As long as Ralph Lauren is branding sheets, paint and 1500 cattle, why not brand his own supply chain?

Most women in New York City do not drive cars. Sure, we ride the subway, but in many ways, our purses are our vehicles.

Upon arrival, they shared some of their thoughts on the fast flow of media and fashion…

A positive experience at New York Fashion Week is all about access.

In high school, I came to New York City and fell head-over-heels for an unattainable Cynthia Rowley bubblegum-pink strapless satin gown. (It was the late ‘90s.) Ever since, the designer has remained a sort of NYC fashion fairy for me. When I moved here in 2003 I would wander to her boutique in the West [...]

Today we’ll go from backstage NYC to backcountry NZ, thanks to the wonders of video and one very generous helicopter pilot. Ready?

Ethically, it’s the “it’s already dead,” justification, taken one step further. We’re not really supporting fur, per se, but rather…recycling!

David’s jeans free him from the daily burden of wondering what to wear. “So what’s that worth?” he asked.

Last night I went to see Naomi Klein and Raj Patel, to find out how the authors’ ideas might be applied to clothing.

Today, one half of a seemingly life-sized denim-dressed backside graces the front of The New York Times Style Section.

At Wednesday’s rally, Joey Raico, a former fabric cutter, called Manhattan’s garment district “a magical place.”

Here, I’m posing a dilemma even dearer to my heart (rather than my stomach), that also has a bit to do with value, as well as values.